Baseball Cards, Dexter Filmore and the Creature from the Black Lagoon
by Ridley C. James
Summary: Tag for Episode 2:02. Slight Spoilers. Jack comes to the realization that some of his actions during their latest mission might have been misconstrued by Mac. With a little unlikely help from Bozer and unwanted insight from Agent Cage, he proceeds to set his best friend straight.


Baseball Cards, Dexter Filmore and the Creature from the Black Lagoon

By: Ridley

A/N: To tell you all the things that bothered me about Episode 2: 02 would probably take longer than this tiny tag on, but I have decided that instead of complaining, -which, much like mad-tweeting, gets us nowhere I'm afraid- I'm just going to make some lemonade out of the lemons the writers handed us this past week. Thanks to those who offered insight and listened to me vent, especially Gib, AZ Girl, 302Pilot, Objessions and my awesome beta, Mary. A shout out to DashboardOnFire at MacGyver Online Forums who is a wealth of information on all things Mac, both past and present. If you haven't checked out that amazing site or her blog you should! Even if you really liked the episode as it was, I hope you still might get something enjoyable from this! Even I liked the sweet moments between Jack and Riley. I just missed Mac, and felt the boys 'mojo' was definitely being compromised. If you haven't seen the episode this has slight spoilers.

RcJ

Jack felt Cage's eyes on him as he finished off his last piece of pizza. Bozer had challenged Mac to a game of Ms. Pac-Man, while Riley went to show Matty her prowess in Skee-Ball. Apparently they didn't have video arcades in Australia or either Cage had no interest whatsoever in any games that didn't involve psycho-analyzation and manipulation because she was currently spending her time staring at Jack.

"I know I'm pretty, darlin', but you're starting to make me feel uncomfortable." Jack turned to the blonde with a grin. He wiped a hand over his mouth. "Have you changed your views on the whole fishing off the company pier or do I have pizza on my face?"

"No. Neither." Cage smiled casually, continuing to regard him with what Jack knew she hoped was a disarming stare. If she'd been a cat, Jack was certain she would have been in full pounce mode now, crouched with her tail swishing. "You've just surprised me, that's all."

"You're not the first lady I've heard that from, sweetheart." Jack took a drink of his Coke, giving a quirk of his eyebrow. "But considering you and I barely know each other and I haven't even had time to truly piss you off yet, then I'm a little confused about your comment."

"I've read your file," Cage's expression was now genuinely perplexed as if Jack had just kicked over the sandcastle she'd worked hard to construct.

"Ditto." Jack motioned between them. He'd read everything Riley was able to dig up on the woman, tapping into his own resources at Langley, and even chatting with a buddy SEAL who had worked with Cage in the sandbox. After Nikki and Thornton, Jack wasn't taking anyone on blind faith or just because Matty said so. "I'd expect nothing less from two of the Farm's finest."

"We are a paranoid lot." The woman leaned her elbows on the table, tilting her head slightly.

Jack forced a smile to cover his discomfort at being studied like a bug under glass and tried to quell any thoughts of the woman naked, because honestly as attractive as she was in her frosty ice princess kind of way, she freaked him out. "What did you find so contradictory in my personnel file that has warranted all this attention and has a great mind reader like yourself puzzled?"

"I didn't expect you to compromise yourself and your team on a job." Cage's quick answer was matter of fact and direct, much like the woman herself. It didn't exactly hold any condemnation or accusation but, it hit Jack like a sucker punch to the gut. "Most SEAL's and Delta operators I've known are very cool and collected under the most stressful of situations," Cage continued. "The more risk to their own, the more cold and detached they can appear. I mean they can't exactly do their thing if they fly off the handle."

"Excuse me?" Jack put down his drink.

"I mean no offense," Cage shrugged her shoulders, though to Jack it was obvious she was enjoying that her tactic worked to rattle him. "Matty told me you were a tightknit group, that you and MacGyver have been partners for years, and that you had a hand in bringing Riley and Bozer on the team."

"That's all true." Jack gave a quick nod, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice, despite not liking where the other agent's rabbit trail was quickly leading which was beginning to look a lot like a stroll in a minefield. "I would never risk my team or my partner."

"But you did," Cage insisted. "I mean that's why Matty called me off my mission, so I could watch MacGyver's back. I assumed you'd perhaps been injured but then she told me you were compromised. It was not what I ever expected, but never fear, Mac and I got on quite well."

"I was trying to make sure Riley was safe." Even as Jack said the words he knew they sounded like an excuse, and the idea of Mac and Cage 'getting on well' set his nerves on edge as much as her accusation that he'd risked his team. He had been worried about Riley, rightfully so because she was at Phoenix because of him. Jack loved the kid and didn't want to be the reason she wound up hurt or worse. He'd also not had the best of experiences with new agents going on solo missions, but now he cursed Cage because he was starting to wonder if he _had_ let his concern get the best of him and had inadvertently abandoned his post.

"Mac told me she was your only family." Cage fiddled with the straw in her drink.

"He told you what?" If her first statement about him compromising his team was a sucker punch, the current revelation was a round house kick to the head, or a good swift knee to the groin. His voice might have cracked. "Why would he say that?"

"Well, I might have surmised as much, and he confirmed my speculations," Cage said, her gaze finding Jack's once more. He couldn't quite interpret the emotion that swirled through her blue eyes but he had the distinct impression she was enjoying herself. "It wasn't hard to extrapolate considering Riley's past abandonment and your vehement reaction to her being placed in a high risk situation. It was textbook actually for a civilian, but not for someone as highly trained as yourself."

"Highly trained doesn't equal inhuman, lady." Jack clenched his jaw, trying not to let the truth of her words burrow under his skin like bot flies on a horse's tongue. He might have lost his shit, and with Mac no less, but it didn't mean he had gone completely off the rails. "And Riley isn't my only family."

"I did read you had a sister and an estranged…"

"I'm talking about my partner. Mac is my family, too." Jack stood before Cage could elude to Jack's mother. He didn't want confirmation the woman knew all his deepest, darkest secrets. The only family that truly mattered to Jack at the moment were the ones roaming the arcade, a fact he was intent on reminding his best friend of, while effectively ending his tête-à-tête with Cage, but her next revelation had him faltering.

"I also read about Operation Squeeze Play."

Jack's stomach flipped, the pieces of pizza he'd consumed jostling around in an unpleasantness that threatened to have him headed to the bathroom instead of off to find Mac.

"You really did do your homework." He couldn't even be pissed at the women, even if he really wanted to. After all, he was the one to invite her to the party, although now he could see it might have been some subconscious act of attrition. Jack forced a smile he really didn't feel. "Is that your thing after a stressful mission, Cage? Instead of taking a bubble bath with a glass of wine or reading romance novels to decompress you pry into your teammate's pasts?"

"One, that's all very sexist of you. I prefer scotch, biographies and hot showers." Cage narrowed her gaze. "Two, I was trying to figure out why you would fly off the handle when Riley so obviously wanted to take the mission."

"First, I happen to think a _man_ can enjoy a bubble bath with some scented candles and fine wine as much as any woman. Secondly my Grandfather, JP Dalton, actually once wrote an award winning romance novel and there is no manlier man than him so don't put me in a box with all your preconceived feminist notions about hot, kick ass men like myself." Jack leaned on the table so he was in Cage's space, his smile becoming more of a wolfish teeth baring. "Last but definitely not least, sometimes what a person _thinks_ they want and what actually _is_ in their best interest are vastly different."

Cage was not thwarated by the show of dominance, in fact she reacted much like the Alpha bitch she presented herself from the very beginning. "But what makes you think you're in a position to make such a call for another agent, Jack?"

"It's called being a leader, which I have been for the last fifteen years of my life." Jack knew calling Riley's readiness into question wasn't all about his position as senior agent, but contrary to what Matty and now Cage were suggesting, Jack had logical reason for his objections as well as the personal ones.

"So you weren't emotionally compromised on this mission?" Cage folded her arms over her chest, as if she were daring Jack to deny his decision hadn't been motivated by his feelings.

"Darlin, I'm directly responsible for the safety of people I love, one of which just happens to be like a daughter to me. My partner is the closest thing I have to a brother and I'd do just about anything or cross any line to protect him. That pretty much ensures I'm emotionally compromised every damn day, but it doesn't stop me from doing my job. In fact, I think it makes me better at what I do." He didn't give the former CIA agent a chance to respond, leaving her slightly slack jawed as he made a huge effort not to stomp away like they'd just had some lover's quarrel.

Jack slowed his pace, purposefully sauntering towards the row of video games and Mac. Ms. Pac-Man was near the end. Bozer was at play, which left Jack's partner standing off to the side, watching.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute, bud?" Jack asked, once he'd approached the two.

"What about?" Mac only flicked his gaze from the game for a brief moment. "I'm going to be up soon."

"Not true," Bozer crowed without taking his eyes from the screen. "Chat away, my friends, because I'm a power pellet guzzling, ghost eating legend. My cute red-bowed self isn't going down anytime soon. Mac's never been able to beat me in this game and he's not going to start now."

"Keep telling yourself that, Boze," Mac continued to lean against the machine, studying Bozer's play like he might an intriguing mathematic equation. It was a purposive distracted attention that Jack had seen his partner use before to avoid conversations. Jack was beginning to get the picture that Mac's whole 'forget about it, Jack,' spiel from earlier was far from sincere. Mac was clearly pissed or maybe hurt, which was worse.

"Dude," Jack tried again, using his own bit of manipulation as he gentled his tone and added a bit of pleading. "Come on, kid. This is important."

"Is something wrong with Riley?"

"No." Jack was once again left reeling by a jab out of left field as he caught the tiniest hint of petulance in Mac's tone. He was pretty certain he deserved it and gave a defeated sigh. "This isn't about Riley, Mac."

"Then I guess it can wait." Mac might have kept his gaze on the screen but this time Bozer did cast a quick glance at Jack over his shoulder. It was a 'what the hell, man' kind of look that suggested he wanted Jack to hurry and fix whatever was going on only Jack wasn't completely sure _what_ was going on. It made the former Delta operator want to punch someone in the throat. Bozer's attempt at visual cueing was enough of a distraction to cost the lab tech his life as a ghost overtook him, a fact Mac took advantage of quickly, shoving the other man out of the way to take his play.

"Told you I would be up." Mac wasted no time claiming the controls, shooting Bozer a smug look and paying Jack no mind at all. "Prepare to see me reach high score of the day."

"Really?" Bozer sighed, nudging Jack. "You so owe me a drink for costing me that turn, Dalton. Come with me to concessions."

"But…" Jack started, only to have Bozer narrow his eyes menacingly before bravely, and somewhat unwisely, shoving Jack towards the refreshment stand.

"No buts, man. I think I want some cotton candy, too."

"Cotton candy?" Jack growled as he let himself be hustled along only because busting Bozer in the face would not have endeared him to Mac and Jack didn't need anymore help in pissing off his partner. "What are you, five? I don't have time to play Uncle Jack to you Bozer, I need to…"

"Fix things with Mac?" Bozer veered around the corner out of Mac's sight, leading them towards the concessions. He stopped a few feet away from the stand, turning to face Jack. "I'm all for you doing that. Trust me."

"I didn't realize there was anything to fix," Jack growled, running a hand through his hair. He had in fact felt he had a bit of a reason to be pissed at his partner considering Mac hadn't backed him in their meeting with Matty when she first suggested Riley take the mission solo. Jack actually believed he was being the bigger man, but apparently he was an idiot. He gestured towards the table where Cage was now chatting with Riley and Matty, the latter two having apparently abandoned their Skee-ball match for ice cream. "At least not until Cage told me some of the things her and Mac discussed on their first mission together."

"If you're not careful it might not be their last mission together." Bozer folded his arms over his chest. "You screwed up, Jack."

"So I'm beginning to understand." Jack waved a hand in the air. "But in my defense I was only trying to watch Riley's back, something I thought you of all people would understand."

"Oh, I am all for you watching out for Riley and you know that." Bozer glanced towards the table where the women were now laughing. "If you hadn't been there, I don't even want to think how we'd be spending this day. I'm just surprised you threw Mac under the bus to do it."

"What?" Jack whipped his gaze back to Bozer. "I didn't throw Mac under the bus."

"So you didn't go completely off the rails 'Bull in a China shop' bat-shit crazy, shoving Mac around and totally ignoring all the points your partner was trying to make, which forced Matty to pull your ass from the operation risking not only Mac's life but Riley's and causing Matty to don her by the book Director hat to have Cage ditch another operation already in progress to come and take your place in the field."

"Cage didn't take my place," Jack growled, knowing that she had done exactly that. He had practically invited her in and served up his spot as Mac's partner on a silver platter. "And I didn't shove Mac around."

"Really now?" Bozer arched a brow. "You forget we were monitoring you two. I distinctly recall hearing a scuffle and 'Don't make me hurt you, Mac'."

"You know I like it better when the powers that be keep you sequestered in the lab with your bro-bot, Sparky." Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, giving a frustrated sigh before meeting Bozer's gaze once more. "I would never hurt Mac, Bozer. Surely in all these years you've known me, you know that's one thing you can count on." Jack realized how cheap those words sounded in light of what he had done. He couldn't even be sure he was being completely truthful, because in the heat of the moment at the warehouse he'd been every bit as out of control as Cage and now Bozer implied.

Jack had let his anger and frustration from the last month come to a head. Looking back now he could see the buildup. It probably started from standing by as Mac played his role as Murdoc, watching from the sidelines as his partner willingly risked his life-yet again. Jack had barely made it in time to save Mac from The Organization's kill squad. Jack hated last minute Hail Mary kind of rescues. Nightmares of not getting there in time and finding Mac's bullet riddled body still woke him up in a cold sweat.

He'd barely had time to get a grip on the emotional fallout from that mission when Phoenix had been infiltrated-on Cairo Day no less- and nearly destroyed on Jack's watch. Bozer had been stabbed, Riley was forced to kill someone, and Mac…Mac had nearly been sliced and diced by the fake Dr. Zito and blown up in cold storage. Murdoc escaping to once more to wreak havoc and pose a continuous threat not only on the world, but especially to Jack's team was just icing on top of a very bitter cake.

Being cast once more in a useless positon as Riley went undercover in a hostile situation –one that was way too similar to the mission Cage had tossed out at him-had been enough to break Jack, and he'd come all unglued with the last person who deserved his wrath. Jack met Bozer's gaze. "At least, never on purpose. I would rather fall on a grenade than hurt Mac on purpose."

"On purpose or not, you messed with his head, man. We both know Mac takes physical swings a whole hell of a lot better than he deals with the mental shit."

"Don't go pointing fingers so easily, Bozer." Jack narrowed his eyes at the younger man. He appreciated the guy having Mac's back, but Bozer wasn't privy to all the pieces of the very complex puzzle. "You haven't read the prologue to this whole story."

"Then how about you shed some light, because from where I'm standing now, this whole thing is messed up. You screwed with Riley and Mac."

"I was trying to protect Riley damn it, something I once failed miserably to do for Mac on his first solo mission with DXS." Jack ran a hand down his mouth as images he'd been keeping at bay flooded through his mind. Mac bleeding from a GSW on a dirty warehouse floor, a warehouse very similar to the one Riley had been sent into last night. If he focused Jack knew he would be able to recall the way the kid's warm blood had seeped through his fingers no matter how hard he worked to keep the precious fluid inside his partner's body. He'd held Mac, who was atypically scared and only half conscious, begging the kid to stay with him until the medics got there.

Jack pulled himself from the past, focusing once more on the man before him. "He wasn't ready for a job on his own, and _he'd_ been in the Army and seen combat for two years, just like Riley wasn't quite as ready as she thought she was for this one, no matter how seasoned and tough she believes her eighteen months in prison made her."

"Mac got hurt on his first solo mission?" Bozer looked taken aback.

"Yes, Boze," Jack snapped harsher than he meant to, drawing some looks from a few parents who'd gathered their kids at the claw machine to spend ridiculous money to win a two dollar stuffed toy. Jack took a few steps away, nodding for the younger man to do the same, and lowered his voice. "Mac had to learn the ropes just like everyone else. I brought him into DXS after Afghanistan, and despite being a veteran and smart as hell, he was still a newbie when it came to the work of an agent. He was a natural but Thornton and I still had to train him. It was my job to watch his back until he could handle himself."

Bozer looked a little sheepish. "I sometimes forget Mac was once where I am now."

Jack snorted. "Mac was never where you are, dude."

"You know what I mean." Bozer frowned at Jack. "Knowing you I can't believe Mac ever talked you into letting him go on a mission without you, seeing as how five years later you don't want him pulling one by himself."

"I wasn't exactly on board with the idea." That was an understatement but Jack and Mac had only been with DXS around six months. If Bozer thought Jack was overprotective now, he would have thought him a little obsessive back then. Despite the kid having proven himself a real asset in the field, Jack was hyper vigilant about Mac's overzealousness to take on any and every challenge tossed his way, especially since Oversight was impressed as hell with their new recruit. Jack had been a little wary about their eagerness to use his partner in an array of areas. Mac's immense knowledge on diverse subjects was advantageous to say the least. Sort of like Riley's usefulness with technology.

"Not on board, like you were not on board last night when Riley was in that warehouse?"

"Let's just say if Thornton hadn't been a woman, I'd have laid her out six ways to Sunday when she dismissed my concerns as overprotectiveness and gave a very similar spiel to the one Matty put on me about Ri." Jack cared about Matilda Weber, but sometimes her 'ball-busting' attitude reminded him far too much of Thornton. "She sided with Mac, who was just as gung-ho as our girl was this go-around."

"What was the mission?" Bozer whispered, glancing around suddenly cautious as if they were being watched.

"Believe it or not it was a counterfeit baseball card ring." Jack didn't think they were in any danger of giving away any classified information considering most of the current clientele of the arcade was under ten and only interested in getting tickets to trade for coveted prizes like the pink unicorn Riley had been determined to win when she was their age. "Mac went under as a baseball collector, a geeky guy called Dexter Filmore."

"You're kidding?" Bozer's brows raised to his hairline. "Why was DXS investigating something like sports memorabilia fraud?"

"It's a long story but let's just say the card ring turned out to be the front for a money laundering business with ties to a terror group that wanted to get their hands on some biological weapons held at our home base." Jack hadn't thought about the irony of that mission having similar threads to what they'd just gone through with The Organization, but now the common thread had his stomach rebelling once more. He swallowed thickly, hoping to keep his dinner from making a reappearance. "Mac was supposed to pose no threat to them. His whole socially challenged, nerdy persona was designed in a way to encourage people to drop their guard around him, make him practically invisible."

"Until he wasn't," Bozer surmised.

"Yeah, just like with Riley, Mac's cover got blown, only I didn't make it to him in time." Jack ran a hand over his hair. "When those guys fled the scene, they weren't taking a witness with them. They weren't amateur enough to stuff Mac in the trunk and finish him off at a more convenient time. They shot him in the warehouse and left him for dead."

"Damn." Bozer folded his hands together, pressing them against his forehead for a moment before meeting Jack's gaze. "

"Damn is right." Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Mac scared me to death that night, so you can maybe see why I was a little hesitant about letting someone else I love jump into a similar situation."

Bozer gave Jack a more understanding look than he assuredly deserved, even reaching out a hand to squeeze Jack's shoulder. "I get that you were between a rock and a hard place, but you still left our boy high and dry."

"Did he tell you that?" Jack sighed, rubbing the muscles at the back of his neck. He hadn't really taken the time to talk things through with his partner, confident that Mac would surely understand after his own disastrous solo gig.

"He didn't have to." Bozer shrugged. "Let's just say the return of some pretty vivid nightmares last night was my first clue. Neither of us got much sleep."

"Damn." Jack ran both hands over his face.

"Damn is right." Bozer's gaze hardened a bit. "I think he feels like you chose Riley over him and whether that's true or not," Bozer held up his hand when Jack opened his mouth to quickly refute such a possibility, "Mac's deep down, tucked away, insecure as hell inner twelve year old sure made it seem that way. Did you forget Riley is not the only one with abandonment issues? Practically everyone in Mac's life has chosen something or someone else over him, from his dad to Nikki. You, on the other hand, have always made him your first priority. He's come to count on that. It used to make me jealous as hell, but now I feel kind of bad for you, because that's a lot of responsibility. You've bore up under it all these years, but now- now, my friend, you have stumbled and dropped some serious balls."

Jack hated it when Bozer made sense. Hated even more what he was about to do, which was swallow his pride and ask the little shit for advice. Aside from Jack, Bozer was the authority on all things Mac. "So how the hell do you suggest I fix this?"

"I would start by apologizing."

"I tried that, man." Jack gestured in frustration over his shoulder to the table where he had offered to explain to Mac about his actions at the warehouse. "You heard what Mac said."

"Because Mac is so going to open up and tell you what is really going on in his big brain in front of Riley, Matty, and me?" Bozer looked at Jack like he'd proposed The United States become BFF's with North Korea. Jack, who really hadn't thought there was a lot to apologize for in the moment, hadn't seen a problem with their typical 'yo, dude, sorry I was an ass' kind of spiel. It was how he and Mac operated.

"When you brought up that whole lame 'about what happened at the warehouse' at our _family_ dinner table, I nearly choked on the cardboard this place passes off as pizza. I had thought two bad decisions in one day-the first being your choice to wear that god-awful hair band shirt-was going to be your quota, but then you went and invited Cage to join us." Bozer folded his arms over his chest. "Which by the way was an obvious ploy to make peace with Mac, because you and I both know he has a little thing for her. Don't get me wrong, she's hot an all, but she reminds me a little too much of Nikki, if Nikki had a half-sister who's biological dad was Crocodile Dundee. Why not toss him to the sharks while you're at it, Jack? Because lusty crush on our boy's part or not, that woman is a man-eater."

"If you're done pointing out what a jerk I am and how many things I've done wrong in this whole situation, how about you try contributing something a little more useful-like how I can undo this whole freaking mess."

"You mean aside from going back in time and re-doing the whole 'Riley gets her first solo mission' episode, or somehow making everyone forget what a total spaz you were?" Bozer asked.

"Yes."Jack clenched his fists, knowing that somewhere deep inside Bozer was enjoying raking him over the coals. First the lab tech had literally saved his ass in Istanbul and now he was getting the chance to pull his fat out of the fire. "Seeing as how I don't have a time machine and since those really cool memory blasters they used in Men in Black aren't available to even us secret agent types yet, then yes, I guess we'll have to go with Plan B."

"Fine," Bozer sighed, donning his best put upon face. "How's your pinball skills?"

RcJ

Jack really didn't see how pinball was going to solve anything, but Bozer was his insistent know it all self and Jack was willing to do almost anything to repair what he'd wrecked with his best friend. So against his better judgment and armed with two milkshakes he made his way back to Mac and his Ms. Pac-Man battle.

"Where's Bozer?" Mac continued to play, working his way around the maze of pellets, gobbling fruits and ghosts alike without much effort. For a moment, Jack felt like he was actually getting a view of that inner twelve year old Mac that Bozer had mentioned and it had his chest tightening with the realization he'd heaped more hurt on his partner, however unintentional it had been.

"He conceded defeat to you and decided to join in the ice cream social the rest of the team is having, like the little girl he is."

"Ice cream actually sounds good." The distinct sounds of Ms. Pac Man being overtaken and destroyed echoed around them as Mac let go of the controls and moved away from the machine, his quest for high score obviously waning in light of having to tolerate Jack's presence.

"Then I have you covered," Jack said, stepping in front of Mac, extending one of the cups. The look Mac shot him had Jack wondering if his partner might pull a similar move to the one Jack had used the night before when Mac had dared to block his way, but as usual, Mac showed more restraint. He merely stared at Jack.

"It's peanut butter," Jack offered lamely. "Your favorite. I actually saw them use the real stuff, Skippy, out of a jar."

"Thanks." Mac took the shake, starting around Jack.

"How about a game of pinball?" Jack said quickly, wincing at how eager the suggestion sounded. He felt like he was walking on egg shells and it sucked because he and Mac didn't do awkward or eggshells. Where was a basketball court or sparring ring when a guy needed them? When they did have a problem or a conflict, that's how they settled things.

Mac must have agreed because after giving Jack a questioning once over, the kid followed up with a frown and a quick shake of his head. "No thanks, Jack."

"That's too bad because I have it on good authority they have Creature from the Black Lagoon." Jack had thought Bozer was exaggerating the whole 'Mac loves that pinball machine' until he caught the familiar flash in his partner's eyes. It was the same kind of gleam Mac got when The Calgary Flames were winning a hockey game or when he'd just used his beloved telescope to witness some boring astronomy phenomenon that only occurred every hundred years or so and he was excited to share with anyone that would listen.

"You sure it's The Creature from the Black Lagoon?" Mac glanced towards the table where their team was and back to Jack. "I haven't seen one of those in years."

Jack was never more grateful for Bozer's weird ability to notice trivial details. He jerked his thumb to towards the back of the arcade. "This place has a whole section of classic tables. It would have been a huge remiss on their part to leave that one out. Right?"

"You know The Creature from the Black Lagoon?" Mac looked doubtful.

"Stay Cool, Daddy-O," Jack said, forcing a grin. He hadn't really believed Bozer when he'd told him that when they were kids Mac had actually gone around quoting one of the game's more popular catch phrases like he was living in a Happy Day's episode, but the grin that now twitched at Mac's mouth said otherwise.

"My Dad used to say that when we played." Mac's smile faded. He ran a hand through his hair. "I got in a habit of using it but learned pretty quickly that 1950's lingo doesn't do much for a guy's street cred when said guy is already pretty much considered a freak by his classmates." The kid met Jack's gaze, doubt wavering in the blue depths. "You really know the game?"

"Are you kidding? I was a pinball champ in Austin." It was technically circling around the specific truth of what Mac had asked considering Jack had once won high score at a filling station on a dilapidated Space Invaders pinball machine, but he didn't want to run the risk of losing his partner's interest now that it was piqued. Mac continued to stare at him with mild amusement, which was far preferable to the cool disdain from moments before. "What?" Jack asked.

"You just surprised me."

"You're not the first person to tell me that today, Brother." Jack snorted, grateful for Bozer's tendency to tell detail-laden stories. "Want to check it out for old time's sake? I won't even make fun of you for singing along to 'Rock Around the Clock'."

Mac looked torn, his obvious desire to avoid Jack waring with his need to see the game for himself. In the end his nostalgia won out and he gave Jack a quick nod. "One game."

In all honesty, Jack had never laid eyes on the pinball machine in question. He had, however, watched the old classic movie and had no problem recognizing which table he was looking for when he and Mac entered the area Bozer had suggested. It was the only one with the green, glowing gilled creature featured prominently on the side and a bathing suit clad beauty being terrorized by said creature on the backboard. The life-sized stuffed clawed beast replica standing to the right of the pin ball machine was also a dead give-away.

"Wow. This one is completely refurbished." Mac ran his hand over the length of the machine, his fingers lingering over the center of the playing field where a lagoon complete with a phantom like image of the creature resided. He glanced up at Jack, flashing a quick grin. "I used to have nightmares about this guy."

"And your dad still let you play?" Jack set his milkshake on the Terminator themed machine behind him where Mac had placed his, noting that he and Mac had the room to themselves for the time being. He dug in his pocket for several quarters, which he handed off to his best friend to have the first play.

"I didn't tell him about them." Mac took the quarters, still staring at the glowing lights and movie marquee graphics much like he had his father's watch when they'd found it in Patagonia. It was as if he'd recovered yet another piece of his childhood and for a moment Jack was grateful for their apparent miscommunication of late if for no other reason than to give Mac a reason to remember his old man in a good light. "I didn't want to give him any cause to stop taking me to the diner."

"Diner?" Jack folded his arms over his chest, watching as Mac inserted the coins and waited for the music to begin, and a silver ball to drop.

"There was this little family run place in Mission City that had the best buttermilk pancakes." Mac glanced at Jack, pulling back on the plunger before letting it loose to strike the ball. "I haven't thought about it in years, but my dad used to take me there on Saturday mornings so we could have breakfast together. It had this machine, or one like it, that sat in the very back of the restaurant near the restrooms." Mac expertly went to work on the flippers as he talked, controlling the ball with some impressive finesse. "My dad and I would always play while we waited on our food and if I won, I got to play again after we finished."

"I bet you knew all the tricks." Jack noted that Mac still knew a few as he expertly bumped the machine just enough to get his ball where he wanted it, but not so hard as to set off any tilt sensors that might lock the controls.

"Some, but my dad was the best. His high score was 1,153,688,450." Mac glanced at Jack. Jack grinned not one bit surprised Mac recalled the exact figure of a game that probably took place fifteen years before. "I couldn't believe it. He shot the snack bar and hit like 4 jackpots with a 5X multiplier in a matter of minutes. It was a game of a lifetime."

"Sounds like a good day." Jack watched his partner play with relish for a good while, not only putting off the inevitable conversation he needed to have with the kid, but allowing Mac to enjoy the trip down memory lane. The silence between them was companionable enough, and Jack found himself enjoying seeing this new side of his best friend. But then Mac's bumper play towards a hole lost him his first ball and Jack was up.

"Watch the left ramp and the balls drain quickly," Mac said, stepping back so Jack could take the next turn.

Jack switched places with the younger agent but hesitated before reaching for the plunger. He looked at Mac instead, his mind racing with what to say. Bozer had only suggested the game to get past Mac's first run of defenses, he'd left Jack to his own devices on the rest.

"You have to actually pull the plunger back." Mac motioned to the playing field. "That's the easy part, Jack. Are you sure you've played pinball before?"

Jack held his partner's gaze ignoring the instruction and the ribbing. "You do know I'd never hurt you intentionally, right?"

"Sure." Mac frowned, gesturing to the game again. "Are you going to play?"

"Only I think maybe I did, I mean, unintentionally." Jack took his hands from the pinball machine and crossed them over his chest. "About last night, kiddo…"

Mac took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "It's good, Jack. Forget it."

"I think you've said that before." Jack turned, leaning his hip against the table so he was facing Mac.

"And once again you didn't listen to me." Mac's voice took a sharper edge before he gave a shake of his head when Jack started to respond to the accusation. "I know you'd never do anything to physically hurt me. Okay? I've never once doubted that."

"Until last night at the warehouse?" Jack filled in.

"You're putting words in my mouth." Mac mimicked his stance, crossing his arms over his chest as frustratingly stubborn as ever. "Making a mountain out of mole hill. Contrary to what you believe, we don't have to talk everything to death."

"Yeah, well, I only talk a blue streak because I know how you hold stuff inside," Jack volleyed back, knowing he was risking pushing Mac right back behind his emotional stonewall balustrade.

"Then tell me what you want me to say, because we're obviously having a problem with being on the same page."

"I don't know," Jack waved a hand in the air, unjustly irritated that Mac was not making it easier on him. "That I screwed up? Made an ass of myself? That I left you in a hell of a position?"

"You were trying to protect Riley. I understand that."

"Do you?" Jack studied his friend. "I mean, I know you care about her, too, but do you understand _why_ I so strongly felt the need to be in her corner on this one?"

"You feel guilty for leaving her when she was a kid."

"What?"Jack frowned, wondering at the way his partner's mind worked half the time. "No. That's not it."

"Then you were pulling a Diaz's father." Mac's tone changed slightly, more reminiscent of what Jack was used to when the kid was unsure of himself and in territory that didn't come natural for him. "Like in the video when he was trying to save his son's life. You'd do anything for her."

"Back to that damn video," Jack pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, trying to reign in his temper. "That wasn't it either, brother. It's true I'd do anything for her, just like I'd do anything for you, but my objections weren't all about me playing the role of protector. Past experiences were in part to blame."

Mac's brow furrowed. "Are you telling me you pulled that stunt last night because of what happened on my first solo mission?"

"Dexter Filmore might have flitted through my mind a few times, yeah," Jack snapped. Truth be told he'd had to will his panic away in the War Room, mentally blocking out the echoes of that night. Mac's pained whimpers, the way he'd clung to Jack's shirt as they waited for medics to arrive. He'd kept telling Jack how sorry he was, how he'd screwed up, and how he hadn't seen the gun until it was too late. When Jack opened that trunk and rolled Riley over, he was pretty sure he'd had tears in his eyes because he'd already imagined finding her in a similar state to what he'd found Mac that fateful night when the money launderers had shot him.

Jack held Mac's gaze. "Let's just say the similarities did not escape me, especially when Matty pointed out that Riley was perfectly ready for the job when I knew damn well that she wasn't. Her head wasn't in a good place after killing that man. Just like yours wasn't quite right after getting back from Afghanistan. So, yeah, I might have flashed back to Thornton railing at me with similar points about a certain twenty one year old blond kid. It's kind of hard to block out a night in which your best friend almost bleeds to death in your arms all because you weren't there to watch his back."

"Okay." Mac's blue eyes flashed with rare anger, but Jack watched him reel it in quickly.

"Okay?" Jack frowned not understanding how his profession riled the kid when nothing else had seemed to break through his self-imposed rampart. "That's really all you got, kid?"

"Again, what do you want me to say?" Mac lifted his arms, letting them drop to his side as if he were truly at a loss of what to do next. "Do you want me to apologize for screwing up all those years ago?"

"Damn, Mac, I want you to say whatever is going on in that ginormous brain of yours. Tell me what it is you need me to do to fix whatever the hell I accidentally broke between us. I'll apologize. Is that what you want? I'll tell you that I made a mistake giving Matty reason to pull me from the case. I'll confess to bull-dozing over you to get my own fucking way like the child I can be sometimes." Jack ran a hand over his hair, growling in exasperation. "Because I have to fix it. You get that right? You're my best friend- my brother. We're family so you have to freaking forgive me whether you want to or not."

Instead of the smile Jack was hoping for, Mac's frown only deepened, despair filling his gaze. "Just like you want me to forgive my dad?"

"Don't do that!" Jack snarled, taking another step towards his partner. He would do anything for Riley and Mac. Absolutely anything, but he would not pay for the sins of their fathers. "I might have screwed up and let you down last night by letting my emotions get the best of me, but don't you dare compare me to your old man because he left you, and I'm still freaking here. I'm not going anywhere."

"For now."

"Damn it, bud." Mac's words laced with certainty and something that sounded a lot like betrayal, was like tossing a match on rags doused with kerosene. Jack could no longer suppress his urge to strike out at someone, anyone. He turned and drove his right fist into the stuffed Creature of the Black Lagoon, following up with a left hook that knocked the thing flat on its back. Jack wanted to add a few well aimed kicks to the gilled monster but was afraid further abuse of the prop might bring security. Being led out of a kid's arcade in handcuffs was the last thing Jack needed for Matty to hold over his head. Nor did he need to give Cage more fodder for whatever little report she was making about their team. Instead he dropped his head into his hands and cursed.

"Jack?" Mac started.

Jack held up a hand, not trusting himself to hold his tongue if the kid rattled off one more stupid thing. Bozer had not been exaggerating when he'd said Jack dropped the ball and had screwed up big time. Jack's first mistake was not the latest case, but failing to recognize the toll the events of the last month had taken on his partner, the havoc and apple basket turnover that both of them were trying to deal with in their usual totally different ways.

If Jack's emotions were off the rail then Mac's were bound to be just as topsy turvy, compartmentalization be damned. Only where Jack's feelings ran hot and leaned toward explosive bouts of anger that got him and everyone around him in trouble, Mac's ran towards self preservation. He turned inward instead of lashing out. Old, well-honed defense mechanisms like detachment and distance made their way to the surface as a means of protection. Leave before getting left. Pull away before being ditched. Draw lines in the sand before anyone else does it for you. It was a tired record Jack was sure had to be playing in the kid's head.

Taking another calming breath Jack turned to face his partner once more. "You need to talk to me, kid. Just drop the whole old armadillo trick where you curl into a ball of armor and let me in."

"Now you want to hear what I have to say!" Mac snapped, shaking his head, looking more miserable than before. Jack almost expected him to land a few blows of his own to the downed Creature from The Black Lagoon. "Why weren't you willing to listen last night, before you blew our mission and got yourself pulled from the field leaving me hanging in the wind with Cage?"

"I don't know." Jack spoke honestly. "Maybe I was pissed at you for not backing me with Matty. Maybe it was it was old shit from your solo gig when you ignored everything I said and went head long into disaster. Hell, kid, I don't exactly understand it myself."

Disappointment rushed across Mac's face. "Then you know how I feel because I didn't understand half of what you did last night. I didn't even recognize you." Mac pointed to the machine, specifically the graphics of the glowing green beast on the front. Bewilderment and good old hurt shone in his blue gaze. "You could as well have climbed out of a swamp as some mutated version of yourself and I wouldn't have been any more unprepared to deal with you and the shit you pulled."

"I know the way I acted might have seemed out of character…"Jack started only to have Mac interrupt.

"Out of character?" His partner asked incredulously. "I've never seen you act like that…I mean maybe I have, once or twice, usually _because_ of me, just never _with_ me. It seemed like you didn't' trust me to take care of Riley, like I was the enemy."

Jack knew that was the crux of it. He sighed, wishing he could go back and change it all. Not the part where he had Riley's back, but the part where he stepped over Mac to get in position. "You're right, brother. I should have kept my shit together, and worked the job _with_ you, because that's what partner's do. Together we could have figured it out, if I'd trusted you and your plan, instead of steamrolling you."

"Maybe." Jack's heartfelt confession seemed to douse a bit of Mac's ire. The kid ran both hands through his hair, getting his breathing under control. "And maybe you wouldn't have been there to pull Riley out when she needed you to, like you were there for me in that warehouse four years ago."

"You know I'd never choose Riley over you, right?" Jack felt like he needed to make sure they were clear on that point, that Mac's 'inner twelve year old' understood exactly where they stood. "You are my first priority."

Mac rolled his eyes much like a twelve year old might. "Damn, Jack, this isn't some sibling rivalry. I'm not a little kid that needs you to reassure them that they're still your favorite."

"No," Jack kept his gaze levelled on his partner. "You're a grown man who is going through a really shitty time right now. These last few months have brought up stuff about your dad that you've had buried for years." Jack gestured to the pinball game, and then reached out and caught Mac's wrist, the one baring his father's watch. "Both good and bad memories. I'm sorry as hell if I added to all that. Hurting you is the last thing I'd ever want to do."

"It's okay." Mac tugged his hand away, giving Jack a slightly sheepish glance. "I should have backed you with Matty, and I should have refused to work with Cage."

"No." Jack shook his head. "You needed someone watching your back in the field. I just wish Matty hadn't chose Cage for your go-to partner."

"She's not my partner." Mac smirked. "That guy's a hell of lot uglier and a whole lot harder to deal with."

"He can be a dick, that's true." Jack nodded, feeling the tension between them start to bleed away. They might not exactly be back to where they needed to be, but Jack wasn't sure anything short of putting a bullet in Murdoc's apricot and dragging James MacGyver back to California to explain things to his son would accomplish that feat. Jack tossed an arm around Mac, pulling him in for a hard side hug. "But don't ever doubt that he loves you, brother."

"You're getting teary," Mac huffed as if he were indulging Jack the touchy-feely moment, but Jack noticed he didn't pull away. Instead he glanced up at Jack. "And you had the nerve to call Bozer a little girl?"

"Speaking of girly stuff, if Cage happens to ask, I enjoy bubble baths, scented candles and the occasional glass of wine after a hard day on the job." Jack let Mac go, but not before ruffling his hair in the way the kid hated. He turned and grabbed his and Mac's milkshakes and started for the door that would take them back into the main arcade area.

"What?" Mac ran a hand over his hair, trying to smooth it back in place. "Why would she think that? You like to watch Die Hard, shoot hoops and down a six pack after any job."

"Well, I might have led her to believe otherwise, along with telling her that my grandfather penned romance novels."

Mac's incredulity at such a proposal was almost comical. "The only thing JP writes is the occasional article for Equine Digest." Mac pointed out, reclaiming his peanut butter shake.

"But he writes so eloquently about horses knowing each other in a, as Nana Beth would say, Biblical way," Jack defended. "I think our horses Raucous and Treaty might find JP's work very romantic. Besides I'm convinced that the artful 'half-truth' is the way to trip Cage up on her whole human lie-detector bullshit."

"I can't wait to tell JP that you called his published work on genetics testing and selective semen collection in correlation to the coveted 'speed-gene' sappy romance all in the name of messing with the new girl." Mac lifted a brow at his partner.

"Don't do that to me, brother," Jack said as he made a bee-line for their table where Bozer seemed to be regaling the women with some kind of outlandish story if his goofy faces and exaggerated hand motions were any indication. Jack hoped to hell the guy didn't give away anything about their bet concerning Cage.

"Oh, I'm telling him." Mac kept pace, elbowing Jack in the side as he took the lead. "Just be glad he's family and he loves you because that means he'll forgive you for being such an ass-eventually."

"Eventually?" Jack rubbed a hand over his smarting side when Mac shot him the mischievous smile he hadn't seen in a while.

The kid nodded, taking an empty seat by Bozer this time instead of the vacant one near Cage. He glanced up at Jack, a seriousness in his blue eyes as their gazes met and held. "Eventually."

Jack sat across from him, shaking his head at Riley as the girl shamelessly stole the shake he'd just set down only to frown at the vanilla flavor he'd chose and claimed Mac's instead. The day had actually turned into more of a celebration than Jack originally hoped. No one was more surprised than him. He lifted his fist, holding it out over the table where Mac bumped his against it. Jack didn't even care that Cage rolled her eyes at the macho move. He winked at Mac. "I think I can live with that, brother."

The end…let me know what you think!

PS…The Creature from the Black Lagoon will be making a reprise showing in For Family, which will be coming up soon!


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